Surrounded by palm fronds, Orange County Fire Authority Fire Chief Keith Richter speaks March 19 about ongoing drought conditions and the need for year-round wildfire preparedness in North Tustin. COURTESY OF ORANGE COUNTY FIRE AUTHORITY, COURTESY OF ORANGE COUNTY FIRE AUTHORITY

Tips and misconceptions:

-People often think they have time before a fire spreads or that it won't happen to them. Grubb countered this line of thinking, "I can happen to them. When it does occur, fire can travel very fast and they may not have the time they think they'll have to prepare and get out."

-The best thing to do is prepare before there's a fire. If there is a fire, then you can leave as quickly as possible.

-Even if your home does not directly back up to wildland areas, it's still dangerous. Embers can travel up to five miles and other conditions like wind can contribute as well.

In California's current drought situation, wildfires could happen at any time, fire officials say.

To combat the danger in hilly North Tustin neighborhoods, the Orange County Fire Authority recently removed 155 nonnative trees and 8,000 cubic yards of vegetation from Peters Canyon and Bent Tree parks.

“It was twofold. We're trying to restore the area back to more of a native state, and obtain a reduction in fire potential and volatility,” said Dennis Grubb, OCFA assistant fire marshal.

Nonnative plants such as palm, pepper and eucalyptus trees in the lower western 20 acres of the park were removed, as well as pampas grass and castor bean.

Eucalyptus and Mexican sand palms, for example, are volatile in fire situations, Grubb said. While there are also volatile native plants such as sage, he said there was very little in the area and none was removed.

The lack of water and rain is making hillsides very dry and combustible, according to the Fire Authority. Fires used to spark in the fall, but changing weather patterns this year mean a fire could happen at any time, Grubb said.

“We believe we're in for a really tough fire season,” Grubb said. “If we do have fires, they'll probably be larger and harder to fight because of the dryness of all the vegetation. If there were ever a time for residents to take action, it's now.”

According to the Fire Authority, the area is considered the county's version of Oakland Hills, where fires in 1991 destroyed thousands of homes in Northern California and caused $1.5 billion in damage.

Grubb said the canyons and some areas in San Clemente are also very concerning, but Cowan Heights and Lemon Heights are a top priority.

“If you look at Oakland Hills and Cowan Heights, the roads are very similar, narrow, windy and twisty,” Grubb said. “There’s limited access for getting equipment and the fire department in, and for residents to get out.”

About 800 homes are in the main project area, which runs between Newport Boulevard and Peters Canyon Road.

The effort to reduce wildfire risk started several years ago, with $252,000 in federal money being tapped for the northern portion of Peters Canyon Park, Grubb said. While that application is being reviewed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, OCFA received a separate $158,000 grant from the California Fire Safe Council for the current project, and started clearing plants in January.

In October, high winds toppled a power line in North Tustin and set off several small vegetation fires.

In September, OCFA held an evacuation drill for North Tustin residents. As part of the grant, fire officials will host “chipper days,” where residents can bring vegetation and OCFA will chip and haul it away for free.

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